White House staff definition
White House staff advise the president, manage daily operations, and coordinate communication with Congress, agencies, media, and the public.
The White House staff is the group of employees who work directly for the president in the White House Office, a division of the Executive Office of the President. Staff members advise the president, carry out the daily work of the office, and handle communication with Congress, federal agencies, the press, and the public.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Executive Office of the President in 1939. That September, Executive Order 8248 established the White House Office as one of its divisions.
Federal law lets the president appoint White House Office employees without following the rules that cover most other federal hiring. Senate confirmation is required for some advisers in the Executive Office of the President, such as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Most are appointed at the president’s discretion.
What does the White House staff do?
Executive Order 8248 describes the job of the White House staff as serving the president “in an intimate capacity in the performance of the many detailed activities incident to his immediate office.” The order gives the president’s secretaries the task of keeping quick and easy communication open with Congress, the heads of executive departments and agencies, the press, and the general public.
White House staff advise the president. They do not run federal agencies. The order says the president’s administrative assistants “shall have no authority over anyone in any department or agency,” apart from the people in their own offices.
Most of the Executive Office's staff work in a different building than the president. Senior advisers work in the West Wing, the office wing attached to the White House. Most of the Executive Office's staff work next door in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Who is on the White House staff?
The White House chief of staff oversees the Executive Office of the President. The 2026 staff report also lists the assistant to the president and press secretary, and the assistant to the president and national security adviser. Other staff are listed as deputy assistants to the president, special assistants to the president, and directors of offices such as communications and legislative affairs.
The White House salaries and expenses account in the federal budget paid for 388 full-time positions in fiscal year 2025, and estimates 461 staff members for 2026 and 2027.
How much do White House staff get paid?
The president sets the pay for White House Office employees. The president must send Congress a report listing White House Office employees by name, position, and annual rate of pay every July 1.
The 2026 report listed annual pay from $59,661 to $197,200. Eleven employees were listed at a rate of $0.
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